


Phantoms of Gold

by Joybee



Category: The Chronicles Of Vladimir Tod - Zac Brewer
Genre: F/M, I have no idea how to tag stuff, M/M, OOC, Slow Burn, What Could Have Been, Yaoi, multi-chapter, smut in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 09:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15288438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joybee/pseuds/Joybee
Summary: This is basically me fixing everything with fanfiction because I am so salty about Dorian's death. The characters are going to be quite OOC and I'm not quite following the storyline. It's a what could have been AU situation with tons of Angst, romance, and of course smut. It's gonna be a slow burn with a deeper delve into the backstories of a few characters as well as some more satisfying death scenes.This story is going to follow Vlad and his relationship with Dorian and how it progresses throughout the story. It starts at the beginning of Eleventh Grade Burns and will end where ever I end up afterwards.





	Phantoms of Gold

You know what Vladimir Todd never quite understood? Why the last level of Vampire's Attack: Zombies Addition was always so friggen difficult to beat. He button mashed his controller, battling against the fanged zombies in cheesy Dracula costumes. He clenched his teeth hoped for the best when the last wave came up. The sickly sound of a sword cutting through rotten flesh echoed out from the TV and before he knew it the ending credits began to play. He glanced over the achievements unlocked on his console with little interest and gave his back a stretch. That was his third try at that level and needless to say he felt a bit accomplished at the fact that he might have beaten it before Henry. Vlad muted the TV and leaned back against the couch cushions.

It was nice to take a moment for himself, after all that had happened in the past few years he felt like he hardly had the time to breath. Even now he felt a little more than suffocated. It had been a day and a half ago that Henry told him about Joss coming back to Bathory.

Joss the Slayer.   
Joss, the one who stuck a stake through Vlads chest.  
Joss, Vlad's former friend.

He shook his head feeling the weight of the situation slowly settling in his chest. Suddenly the game didn't seem all that fun anymore and the shadows on the walls seemed to grow. He grabbed his phone off the end table and dialed Henry.

The phone rang twice before Henry picked up with what sounded like a distracted hello.

"Henry? You doing anything?" Vlad's gaze lazily flicked over the television screen. The title screen of his game stared back at him in its gory text.

"Huh? Nah, just cleaning. Mom's gone haywire and thinks the house needs to be spotless for when Joss and his family gets here." Henry's voice was interrupted by a soft thud followed by loud swearing.

Vlad blinked and held back a snicker. "You alright?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, just dropped the damn dustpan on my foot that's all. Anyway, what'd you need?"

Vlad heard what sounded like shuffling on the other end of the call and figured Henry was trying to finish sweeping. "Nothing really, I was just wondering if you were up for going out to the Crypt tonight? Hang out with Snow and the others."

"I so would but my mom would kill me, I may or may not have already snuck out of the house to try and get to your place like half an hour ago."

Vlad had to hold back his laughter. "Man you're hopeless!"

"Yeah I know, I totally need to level up my stealth skill."

"Dude you are such a nerd!" Vlad didn't hide the laughter in his voice at the stupid joke from his friend.

"That's why you love me bro." The sound of a door slamming could be heard over the phone. "Wait one sec-" His voiced faded for a moment, like he was holding the phone away from his mouth. "Yeah! No, I'm working on it. Yeah, I can do that!" He was back a second later. "Sorry man I've gotta run, mom's got me workin' to the bone I tell ya'!"

"Hey man, no worries. I'll catch you after the drill sargent has run out of steam." Vlad chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, feeling the tension from earlier slowly start to fade away.

"Alright, catch ya' lat-" Again Henry's voice sounded like he was holding the phone away from him. "Yeah I'm on it!" There was a soft click and Henry's voice was gone.

Vlad sat there listening to the dial tone for a minute, the ringing buzzing in his ears. He looked at the phone in his hand for a minute before hanging up. He sighed and tilted his head back against the couch. He stared up at the ceiling, letting his thoughts clear. What was he going to do? He ran a hand through his hair, pulling it back away from his face with another deep breath. A pressure formed at the base of his skull making his eyes widen in surprise.

_'Otis?'_ Vlad called out mentally, wondering if his uncle had decided to lurk around his mind.

_'Yes Vladimir. Are you doing alright? The silence in my head is deafening.'_

Vlad smiled softly and he turned off the TV. _'I'm alright, just a little bored. I'm going to head out to the Crypt tonight and was just about to get ready.'_

_'I understand, but before you go I want you to visit the house. You haven't seen it since the renovations were completed.'_

Vlad couldn't help but let out a shaky sigh before standing up. _'I'll see you there in a few minutes.'_ With that he cut off his thoughts and headed upstairs. The carpet muffling his footsteps. He wasn't sure if he was ready to return to that place. It had been a few months since he'd last set foot in that house, but the smell of ash still burned in his nose. And the soot had never quite been rinsed out from underneath his fingernails.

He let out another breath and pulled off the ratty t-shirt he had been wearing. His old shorts following soon after. He walked over to his closet, the black briefs he was wearing offering little protection from the slight chill in his room. His eyes wandered around his selection of clothes for a minute before deciding on a sleeveless hoodie and a pair of jeans. He slipped them on and gave himself a once over in the mirror. His black hair was messy and the dark circles underneath his eyes were heavy.

"God I look like a mess." He ran a hand over his face, feeling an ache start to form behind his eyes. He wasn't ready to go back there yet, not even after all this time. He stared at his reflection before shaking his head and throwing on his shoes.

The house looked nothing like it had before when he arrived. The warm yellow color and new windows completely different from the dark grey tone it had been before. He shivered, fighting back against the fear that slowly crept its way up his neck. Now wasn't the time for those memories to surface. He didn't need to remember the ash and how it choked him. How it flooded his mouth and made his nose and eyes burn. He didn't need to smell the putrid acid scent of burnt flesh and wood. He closed in on himself, his arms wrapping around his chest and nails digging into his biceps. His nerves were fried and he couldn't stop trembling.

"Vladimir?"

The voice shook him down to his core and he looked up at his uncle, who stood in the doorway. He took a deep breath and slowly relaxed his body. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright? You look faint." Otis walked forward and Vlad found comfort in the warm hands that settled on his shoulders.

"I-I'm fine." Vlad's jaw clenched. "I'm just fine." He looked past his uncle and into the doorway. From what he could see nothing looked the same. It seemed to radiate warmth. Not the fiery cinders from the deaths of those he loved, but the warmth of a place he could call home. He took a shaky breath and went to walk past his uncle. Ready to finally move past what had happened all those years ago.

Otis had followed Vlad inside, and Vlad took in all that he had done to the house. The scorch marks and soot were gone and in their place was clean mahogany floors and plush furniture. The acidic smell of burned sheets and bodies was but a faint memory as the smell baked goods from the candles nearby overwhelmed him. And instead of a dreary grey and distressed black, the rooms were all colored in warm golds, creams, and earthy browns. It was so different than the memories that haunted him.

"Is...Is everything different?" Vlad looked at him with trembling eyes, fear of loosing everything despite the painful memories that followed this place.

"Not quite, come upstairs." His uncle began making his way up the stairs and Vlad stared at the floor.

The pressure in Vlad's mind gently nudged him to follow his uncle, despite how much fear decided to press on his heart. He took slow steps upwards, climbing the staircase with his heart slowly beating faster as he got closer.

Closer to that room.  
Closer to the room where he almost lost everything.  
Closer to the room that choked him with guilt.

His heart was hammering in his chest and his body trembled at the sight of that door. That damn cursed door that looked just like it had all those years ago.

"I left it just the same as it was when you left. Of course-" Otis swung the door to the bedroom open. "I gave it a good scrubbing as well."

Vlad nearly wanted to hit Otis, he wasn't ready to see this room. He could still see the ash, the leftover smoke, and the still smoldering embers of his parents corpse. The acidic smell of ash and burnt flesh burned his nose and he nearly vomited at the sight of the mangled corpses laying there on the bed. His father... his mother... This is where they were taken from him by the fire.

It took him a minute to realize that he was being shaken by the shoulders. The smell was no longer as overpowering as it had been and instead was reduced to nothing but a memory. His vision was hazy and his ears were ringing. He could vaguely make out what his uncle was saying, was he calling out to him?

"Vladimir!? Vladimir please snap out of it!"

His name cut through the dull ringing like a knife and Vlad shook his head. He blinked and gave a shuddering cough. "I'm...I'm alright. I'm sorry." He looked up to his uncle once again, his eyes wet and lips quivering. "I...I wasn't ready for this. I can't...I can't do this." He shuddered and fell back against the wall, his heart beating a mile a minute.

His gaze shifted back to the room, fighting the urge to run back down the hallway. He could vaguely hear his uncle saying something but his eyes were transfixed. It looked just as it had before the fire. He took a step forward, expecting it to change back to the ash filled grave.

It didn't.

He nearly cried in pure bliss, the haunting memories slowly fading into background noise. He was home, it looked like home, but at the same time it still wasn't the same. His parents were gone, they weren't coming back. He stared at the room and trembled. A warm hand came upon his shoulder and Otis looked at him. Vlad wrapped his arms around Otis, feeling all the stress and tension give way to familial comfort. He pulled away and kept his gaze down towards the floor. His voice had gone faint and instead he mentally pressed upon his uncle. _'I really should go, I...I'm happy with what you've done with the place.'_

_'Of course Vlad, please be safe on your way there.'_ Otis looked at him with an expression of sympathy and gave him one last hug.

Vlad almost bolted out of the house. He needed to get away, away from all that tension, away from the second floor, and away from that room.


End file.
